Sawhorse or trestle



United States Patent O 3,286,788 SAWHORSE R TRESTLE Frank B. Swanson,Glendale, Calif., assgnor to Bank of America National Trust and SavingsAssociation, administrator Filed June 14, 1965, Ser. No. 463,823 7Claims. (Cl. 182-15S) This invention relates to carpenters sawhorses andlike trestle-like supporting devices and more particularly to a new andnovel form thereof capable of being folded into compact form forpurposes of stora-ge and transportation. Also, the invention, Whileprimarily useful in the capacity indicated, is useful also as a trestlein the support of temporary scaffolding such .as used by painters,plasterers or others While working on ceilings and upper portions ofwall surfaces or, for that matter, any use in which an elevated Workingsurface for standing on or for material Ibeing worked on is desirable.Accordingly, tlhe term sawhorse as herein employed shall be deemed toinclude .all equivalent supporting devices whether they be called asawhorse, a trestle or any other name.

The conventional sawhorse or trestle comprising an elongated main membersupported at each end by a pair of rigidly .aflixed, downwardlydiverging legs is employed by carpenters `and others both to supportmaterial being worked on -or to support one or more boards or the liketo form a surface either for the support of one or more persons or tosupport mate-rial Ibeing worked. Such sawh-orses .are bulky and clumsyto be carried from job to job .an-d to be stored when not in use andamong tlhe principal lobjects of the present invention are: to provide asawhorse device which is readily folded into a compact form; which,while formed lfrom light Weight metal, is st-ur-dy and rigid; which isreadily supplied with a replaceable wood surface; which is formed from aminimum number of parts, many of which are identical land all of whichare of simple design; and 4which is both economical to manufacture, andsatisfactory for its intended purposes.

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such .additionalobjects and advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention residesin the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement ofparts described, by way of example, in the following specification of apresently prefer-red embodiment of the invention, reference being hadt-o the accompanying drawings which for-m a part of said specificationand in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sawhorse constituting a presentlypreferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged scale, fragmentary, side elevational view of oneend of the sawhorse shown in FIG. 1 as open for use,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary end elevation of the sawhorse as open'for useshowing details of the yhinging of the legs and the cross brace meansextending between a paia of legs,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged scale transverse sectional view taken on the line4 4 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view on the same scale as FIG.2 but showing the lleg element as folded for storage or transportation,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged scale transverse sectional view taken on the line6 6 of FIG. 2 an-d showing details of the cross brace latching means forone pair of legs,

and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the sawhorsefol-ded up .for transportation or st-o-rage.

`Before going into a detailed description of the illusice tratedembodiment of the invention it should be menti-oned that the replaceablewood top rail R shown in certain of the figures in phantom lines is forthose uses of the device in which the use of such .a top rail isnecessary to protect the teeth of saws and the like. These top rails arereplaced as wear and tear make replacement desirable, but for uses ofthe device confined to scaffold or platform support or the like, thiswooden top rail may not and need not be used.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of the devicecomprises .a main frame member 1 preferably formed from a length ofinverted channel aluminum stock having a flat top surface 2 anddepending side flanges 3, 3 diverging from each other at the angle ofdivergence of the four leg elements 4 by which the main frame issupported in position of use. The leg elements 4 lare preferably formedfrom `shallow channel aluminum and each leg is pivotally secured to oneeach of the side flanges 3 at the ends thereof by a rivet 5 passingthrough `the web portion of the upper end of the leg and through theside flange 3 of the main member and also preferably through a drylubricant means such as a relatively lchick nylon Washer 6 interposedbetween the adjacent faces of the leg and main member flange.Preferably, the distal end-s of the legs are cut at such an angle as tobe parallel to the floor or other surface on wihich the device issupported in use. Additionally, to permit the hinging action of the leg.about its pivotal mounting, the upper end of the leg is rounded as at 7as best illustrated in FIGS. 2 .and 5 and the washer 6 possesses anadditional function to lbe later referred to.

Since the rivets 5 extend at right angles to the planes of the legs andof the side flanges 3, the pairs of legsat each end of the main member1, when opened out at right angles to the length thereof diverge fromone another and since they are mounted on the inner faces of the flanges3, when they are folded, they fold inside of these flanges as bestillustrated in FIG. 7. The outermost side flanges of each pair of legscarry a detachable cross brace means operative when engaged, to holdthe.

legs in a spread condition in which they are slightly farther apart thanthe angle determined by the main member side flanges 3 and rivets 5. Thecross bracing means comprises a resilient metal bar 8 pivotally mountedby a rivet 9 on the inner face of the outermost side flange of one legof the pair at about the mid-length of the leg, said brace member beinglaterally distorted so that the opposite end thereof normally occupiesraposition outwardly from the leg on which it is mounted. At its oppositeend,

the member 8 carries a latching detent means comprising a laterallyoutwardly projecting -dowelpin 10 engageable in a complementary latchreceiving means comprising a hole 11 formed in the outer side flange ofthe other leg of the pair, the lateral distance between the rivet 9 anddowel pin 10 being such that when the brace is extending between thelegs as shown in :full lines in FIG. 3the legs will be slightlystretched apart to impart rigidity to the legs. For convenience inlocating the brace so that the pin 10 readily engages the hole 11, theleg 4 having the hole 11 carries a stop member 12 comprises a pinextending across the inner face of the web of the leg between the sideflanges thereof at a position such that when contacted by the end of thebrace as it is swung in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3into locking position, the rounded end 13 of the brace will cam the legslightly outwardly and when the brace 5 encounters the stop pin 12, thedowel pin 10 will snap into the hole 11 and be held therein by thespring bias of the brace deriving from the free end thereof having beenforced laterally inwardly from its said normal position.

Each leg 4 is provided with aseparate means including a brace 14 forlocking it in its unfolded position and a description of one of saidlocking means will serve for all. Each brace 14 comprises a metal barhaving one end thereof pivotally secured by a rivet 1S to the outer faceof the web portion of the leg with which the brace is associated atabout the midlength of the leg and preferably, but not necessarily,slightly above the plane of the cross brace 8. The opposite end of thebrace 14 carries a 4stud element 16 which projects outwardly through andis adapted to slide along a longitudinal slot 17 in the main member sideange to which the leg is attached by its rivet 5, said stud exteriorlyof the side ange 3, having a head 18 and carrying a compression springmeans 19 reacting between said head and the outer surface of the mainmember side flange 3. Additionally, this end of the brace 14 carries anoutwardly projecting stud or dowel 20 which, when the leg is opened outsufficiently to engage the end of the slot 17 which is adjacent the endof the main member 1 to which the leg is hinged, will enter acomplementary hole 21 in the side flange 3 by virtue of the bias of thespring means 19 and thus automatically lock the leg in its extendedposition.

In those instances in which it is desired to reduce the width of themain member as much as possible, the length of the inner side flanges ofthe legs 4 may be reduced as best indicated at 22 in FIG. 6. The widthof the legs 4 is substantially equal to the depth of the channel in themain member 1 or, to be more exact, equal to the width of the sideflanges 3. The length of the main member must of course be not less thantwice the length of the legs measured from their pivot points to theirdistal ends so that they may be housed within the channel of the mainmember in end-to-end relation when folded. The main member may, ofcourse, be any length greater than this indicated minimum length. Itwill be noted that the rivets 15 are axially parallel to the rivets 5wherefore, the leg when folded into the main member will lie parallel tothe associated brace. The washers 6 being of substantially the samethickness as the thickness of the brace members 14 serve to position thelegs so that there is clearance for the braces 14 when the legs arefolded into the channel of the main member. Thus, as above indicated,these washers not only serve as a lubricating means to prevent scoringof the aluminum but also serve as spacers for the proper folding in ofthe legs as above indicated. Additionally, as previously mentioned, theweb portion of the main member 1 may support a wood rail R which may beremovably and replaceably secured thereto by any appropriate means as,for example, lag screws S extending through holes 23 in the main member.

Assuming that the device is folded up as shown in FIG. 7 and it isdesired to be unfolded for use, each of the four legs is swung out tothe limit permitted by the braces 14 with incident automatic locking ofthe legs in the extended position. As each pair of legs is thusextended, the cross brace means which, in the folded position has beenfolded to lie along the inner face of the leg side ange to which it ispivotally attached is swung on its pivot toward the hinged end of theother leg after having been sprung inwardly to be disposed on the innersurface of the web of the other leg of the pair `and as it is thus swungand encounters the stop pin means 12 of the other leg, the spring biasthereof causes the dowel pin to enter the hole 11 in the said other leg.Thus the device is quickly opened and rigidly locked in position of useautomatically as an incident to thus moving the legs to the extendedposition. When it is desired to fold the device up again for storage ortransportation, the cross brace of each pair of legs is first disengagedby pressing it inwardly to effect disengagement of the dowel pin 10 fromthe hole 11 and it is swung down into parallelism with the leg to whichit is pivoted. Thereafter, the pair of legs can be disengaged from theirlocked position by pressing inward- 1y on the heads 18of the stud 16associated therewith to disengage the dowel pins 19 from the holes 20 inthe main member after which the legs are folded into the channelV theprecise details of construction thus disclosed by way of Y example andit will be understood that the invention includes as well all suchchanges and modifications in the parts and in the construction,combination and arrangement of parts as shall come within the purview ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

.1l A sawhorse comprising an elongated main Iframe member of invertedchannel metal having downwardly -divergin-g side flange portions and apair of foldable leg assemblies at each end thereof Aand Imovablebetween a folded position housed between said diverging side angeportions and an extended posit-ion -supporting said frame member, eachof said leg assemblies comprising a pair of legs each having one endthereof sepanately pivotally connected to one each of the ends of saidside flange portions of said main member and movable on said pivotsbetween said folded position parallel to said main member between theside flange por-tions thereof and an extended position substantially atright angles thereto in said extended position, a separate, manuallyreleasable brace having means associated with each leg operableautomatically to lock the associated leg in extended position and a:pair yof manually releasable cross braces associated one each with eachof said pairs of legs; each of said cross braces being pivotally mountedon an inner face of one of the legs of the pair with which it isassociated and being inherently tensioned and having means toautomatically lock itself upon the other leg of the associated pair oflegs in a position spreading the legs engaged thereby at a predetermineddistance apart when said legs are moved to said extended position.

2. A sawhorse -as claimed in claim 1 in which the brace means associatedwith each leg inclu-des a latching detent means engageable with -adetent receiving opening in the side flange of sa-id main member towhich the associated leg is pivotally connected, and in which la springmeans carried by said brace means operates automatically to electengagement of sai-d detent means with said detent receiving opening uponmovement of the associated leg to its extended position.

3. A sawhore as claimed in claim 1 in which said legs are formed ofmetal channel, in which said c-ross braces are formed Ifrom .a resilientbar having one end thereof pivotally att-ached to the side flange of oneleg of a pair of legs, in which said bar intermediate its ends is bentto cause the distal end thereofnormally to lie in a plane outwardly ofthecorrespondi-ng flange of the other leg of the pair, and in whichinterengaging latch means carried by said distal end of said resilientbar and the other leg of the pair are 4constructed and arranged to beheld in releasable engagementby the resilience of said bar incident tobei-ng distorted out of its said normal position to effect enga-gementof said latch means.

' 4. A sawhorse comprising a main member formed of a length of invertedchannel metal having the side flanges thereof diverging yfrom each otherland said member presenting a substantially at top surface, supportingmeans for .said frame member comprising pairs of divergi'ng legsdlsposed one pair yat each end of said member, the legs of each pairbeing separately pivoted, one each to the inner face of each of theflanges 'of said main member whereby, when extended, the legs divergefrom each other at the angle of divergence of said Han-ges from eachother and when folded, win be sai-d main member side flanges, a :pair ofbrace means associated one each with each of .said legs constituting apair and each of said brace means including a locking means operativeautomatically upon extension of the leg disposed within the confines off with which it is associated to lock the leg in extended position,means for separately manually releasing the locking means of each ofsaid brace means to permit folding of the associated leg, meansaffording clearance for reception of each of said Ibraces between theinner lface of Ithe main member Yflange to which the associated leg ispivoted and the outer face of the associated leg when that leg is `inits folded positi-on and a relcas'able cross brace means pivotallymounted on one of said legs constituting a pai-r and having automaticlatching engagement With the other leg to interconnect the extended legsof that pair in a predetermined divergent relation t-o each other.

5. A sawhorse as claimed in claim 4 in which each of said first namedIbrace means compurises a rigid elongated member having one end thereofpivotally connected 'to the outer face of the leg with which it isassociated and its opposite end slidingly connected to and disposed atthe inner face of the main member flange to which it is pivoted, and inwhich the hinged mounting of the leg includes a spacer interposedbetween the adjacent faces of th-e mai-n member flange `and the sidesunface of the leg, said spacer having a thickness dimension notsubstantially less than the thickness of the associated brace means andserving to space the leg, when folded, ffrom the main member iiange toform a clearance for reception of the associated .brace mean-s.

6. A sawhorse as claimed in claim 4 in which said first named bracemeans comprises an elongated rigid member having one end thereofpivotally connected to the associaled leg .at a point intermediate theen-ds of the leg for movement about an axis which is substantiallyparallel to the axis of the pivotal mounting of the leg on said mainframe member flange, and in which the other end of said rigid member isdisposed at the inner face of the associated m-ain member flange andcarries a stud guided in a slot extending longitudinally of the saidassociated main member flange, ysaid other end of said rigid memberhaving a latching detent engaging with `detent receiving means on saidassociated an-ge when the leg is moved to extended position, and inwhich spring means reacting between said main member fiange and saidrigid member is operative automatically t-o effect engagement of saidlatching detent with -said detent receiving means npon movement of saidleg to the extended position thereof.

7. A sawhorse comprising a frame member formed of a length of channelmetal including downwardly diverging side flange portions land asubstantially flat top surface, supporting means for s-aid frame membercomprising pairs of legs disposed one pair at each end of said framemember, Ithe legs of each pair .being separately pivoted one each t-othe inner face of each of said flanges whereby, when extended, the legsdiverge Ifrom each other -at the angle of divergence of said side flangeportions and when folded, will be disposed within the confines of saidside flanges, each of said legs having a separate .brace meansassociated therewith and each of said brace means constituting a rigidbar having one end pivoted to an outer surface of the associated leg andhaving the other end thereof slidingly and pivotally engaged with theside flange on which the associated leg is pivote-d and additionallyincluding means operative lautomatically upon extension of the-associated leg to lock the leg in extended position, and meansrassociated with the pivotal mounting of the associated leg serving tospace the outer face of the leg from the inner face of the flangeportion to which it is pivoted with resultant provision of space forreception of the brace member when the leg is in folded position.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,465,947 `8/ 1923Oetzel 182-155 1,788,566 10/1930 Pitner 182-155 2,144,049 1/ 1939Forcier 182-225 2,520,469 8/ 1950 Mowrey 182--155 2,824,771 2/1958Blenski 182-155 3,208,553 9/ 1965 Gray 182--119 REINALDO P. MACHADO,Primary Examiner.

1. A SAWHORSE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MAIN FRAME MEMBER OF INVERTED CHANNEL METAL HAVING DOWNWARDLY DIVERGING SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS AND A PAIR OF FOLDABLE LEG ASSEMBLIES AT EACH END THEREOF AND MOVABLE BETWEEN A FOLDED POSITION HOUSED BETWEEN SAID DIVERGING SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS AND AN EXTENDED POSITION SUPPORTING SAID FRAME MEMBER, EACH OF SAID LEG ASSEMBLIES COMPRISING A PAIR OF LEGS EACH HAVING ONE END THEREOF SEPARATELY PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO ONE EACH OF THE ENDS OF SAID SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS OF SAID MAIN MEMBER AND MOVABLE ON SAID PIVOTS BETWEEN SAID FOLDED POSITION PARALLEL TO SAID MAIN MEMBER BETWEEN THE SIDE FLANGE PORTIONS THEREOF AND AN EXTENDED POSITION SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO IN SAID EXTENDED POSITION, A SEPARATE, MANUALLY RELEASABLE BRACE HAVING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH LEG OPERABLE AUTOMATICALLY TO LOCK THE ASSOCAITED LEG IN EXTENDED POSITION AND A APAIR OF MANUALLY RELEASABLE CROSS BRACES ASSOCIATED ONE EACH WITH EACH OF SAID PAIRS OF LEGS; EACH OF SAID CROSS BRACES BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON AN INNER FACE OF ONE OF THE LEGS OF THE PAIR WITH WHICH IT IS ASSOCIATED AND BEING INHERENTLY TENSIONED AND HAVING MEANS TO AUTOMATICALLY LOCK ITSELF UPON THE OTHER LEG OF THE ASSOCIATED PAIR OF LEGS IN A POSITION SPREADING THE LEGS ENGAGED THEREBY AT A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE APART WHEN SAID LEGS ARE MOVED TO SAID EXTENDED POSITION. 